Home ❯ Songs ❯ Johnny Cash ❯

I Walk the Line

by Johnny Cash • Lesson #6 • Nov 17, 2013

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Practice Guide 6 pages

Song Sheet with Lyrics 5 pages

A printed arrangement with the lyrics, chords, and other guitar parts taught in my video lesson. Available for purchase through Musicnotes.com.

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Lesson Discussion

About this lesson

In this lesson I’ll teach you how to play the Johnny Cash classic I Walk The Line, which was originally released in 1956. My main tutorial (above) focuses entirely on the iconic intro to this song, which remains one of my favorite things to play after having learned hundreds of songs. I start with just the bass notes, then proceed to add single strums of each chord, and finally add filler up-strums & palm muting to give you that boom-chicka sound.

0:00 Lesson overview
2:19 Variation 1: bass notes only
13:26 Variation 2: adding simple chord strums
21:27 Variation 3: adding muted “boom-chicka” strumming
25:18 Farewell

Full Song Tutorial (Lesson #6)

This is a much older video for this song, which was one of the very first I ever made. Beware, I was brand new to recording videos! There are no graphics and the presentation is quite raw and unrefined. Just the same, I’m leaving it up in case it helps with anything (when learning the verse sections especially) not included in my main tutorial above.

Here’s some tutorials I’ve made that teach the tips & techniques used in this song. Use these to really get the hang of these core principles, which you’ll use in various songs.

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I Walk the Line

Practice Guide 6 pages

Song Sheet with Lyrics 5 pages

Lesson Discussion

About this lesson

Full Song Tutorial (Lesson #6)

Related & Recommended

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Browse Related Lessons

Enjoy My Lessons? Show Your Support!

Looking for More Song Lessons?

Featured Courses

Travis Picking Essentials

Practical Music Theory

Guitar for Beginners

Beginner Chord Guide

Blues Starter Kit

Reading Music for Guitarists

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

JamBox

Key Master

Capo Captain

Blank Tabs

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Recent Lessons